The Anaheim Ducks will retain Leo Carlsson after matching the Philadelphia Flyers’ five-year, $90 million offer sheet to the star center, the team announced Thursday.The Ducks matched it after the Flyers announced on July 3 that they had signed the restricted free agent to the record-breaking offer sheet, making Carlsson the highest-paid player in the NHL with an $18 million average annual value, surpassing Kirill Kaprizov’s $17 million per season with the Minnesota Wild.“Matching the offer sheet was an easy decision, as Pat has intelligently left enough cap space to give us the ability to retain Leo,” Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli said in a statement. “We have extremely high expectations for Leo. We firmly believe he will continue his strong growth trajectory and become one of the truly elite centers in the league, while continuing to make a strong impact in our community.”Anaheim, which owned the 21-year-old’s rights after his entry-level contract expired this summer, chose to pay Carlsson rather than take Philadelphia’s next four first-round draft picks as compensation for him going to the Flyers.NHL offer sheets are just businessSean Gentille and Sean McIndoe“We are very happy to have Leo under contract for five years,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said in a statement. “We have viewed Leo as a franchise player since the moment we met him prior to the 2023 draft. He’s a character person on and off the ice. Leo is viewed as a top player in this league, and it was always our intention to match any offer sheet.”